Food companies and consumer groups are pushing for more information about what happens on the farm.
Dairy Farmers of Canada has responded with a comprehensive sustainability package that covers food safety, milk quality, animal welfare, traceability, environmental stewardship and biosecurity.
Known as ProAction, the mandatory program is coming in phases to Canadian farms and will eventually be a branded, verified program to satisfy consumers’ questions.
“We started working on this a number of years ago and the reality is we are seeing that is going to become a bigger part of our new market where people want to have that information,” said David Wiens, vice-president of Dairy Farmers of Canada.
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Danone recently announced it wanted milk produced in a sustainable manner. The Sustainable Agriculture, Naturality and Transparency program is offered only in the United States, but the Canadian arm of the company is aware of the ProAction program, said spokesperson Natacha Gouveia of Danone Canada.
“We are an active participant in all relevant industry associations and discussions to ensure our industry’s sustainability, health and growth,” she wrote in an email.
Wiens said other companies, such as Tim Hortons and Unilever, are interested in the dairy program.
“People have been saying for some time, this is what is coming at us. It is certainly not a surprise,” he said. “For farmers to ignore these things is to ignore them at our own peril.”
Two pilot projects have tested components of the ProAction program, and all farms are eventually expected to enroll. The assessments begin this fall and continue until September 2017. Independent validations start after that.
The existing Canadian quality milk program has Canadian Food Inspection Agency approval and will merge into ProAction.
A pilot project is also looking at an element of the program that is based on the code of practice for the care and handling of dairy cattle. Holstein Canada will measure for body condition scores, lameness scores and injuries.
As well, trained veterinarians may conduct animal assessments after a two-year period. Benchmark scores will be set so that producers can compare themselves to an average farm to determine where improvements are needed.
The program is expected to assure consumers and processors that farmers are following approved standards of production and safety.
The program will be validated on farms every other year, and a self-assessment will be performed in the alternate year. Random audits will occur every year.
Dairy Farmers of Canada belongs to the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, which is developing similar requirements.
